Doug McAbee learned to weld at age 7. While his imagination was running wild, his father began teaching him practical construction methods with steel. The sense of play and exploration he valued then is still with him as he creates whimsical and organic forms using this sturdy and rigid material.

Doug earned his MFA at Winthrop University in 2003 and works as Assistant Professor of Art at Lander University in Greenwood, SC. He lives out in the middle of nowhere with his family and their dogs and he creates drawings and sculptures when he’s not teaching.

He laughs a lot. He hates spiders, doesn’t prefer cats but he loves ice cream and chocolate. Often at the same time.

And he was raised by wolves.

Artist statement

The commute to work. A conversation with my wife. The funny thing my kids did this morning. These are the things that become drawings and sculptures.

Bold colors, shiny surfaces and whimsical imagery continue to be essential elements in my drawings and sculptures. I am interested in the power of color, beauty and humor in visual communication and how a viewer’s personal experiences will affect how they interpret the images they are presented. My artwork often dips into serious or sinister subject matter, but always does so with a sense of humor, a shiny color and a spoonful of sugar. My approach to concept addresses the idea of complex or multifaceted imagery. Things are rarely only what they first appear. As in life, things may be grave and also hilarious, simple and yet complex, mature but also irresponsible. These images and forms refuse easy labels and beg further thought.

My drawings often incorporate color ink with natural wood and may mix well rendered images alongside more hastily sketched or cartoonish images. My sculptures are made of hollow formed steel and also combine detail with economy. While each image used in a drawing or a sculpture holds a significant personal meaning to me, I am interested in how these meanings shift when apparently unrelated images are fused together. I am even more interested in how these images and forms almost always take on new meanings in the eyes of the viewer.